Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values [Hardcover]

Mr. Charles M. Hampden-Turner (Author), Mr. Fons Trompenaars (Author), David Lewis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0300084978 | ISBN-13: 978-0300084979

Focuses on the dilemmas of managers striving for cross-cultural competence in the global work environment. Based on 14 years of research comparing American cultural values to those of forty other nations, with humor, cartoons, and a full array of examples. DLC: International business enterprises--Management.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Management-trend-watcher Stuart Crainer (author of The 75 Greatest Management Decisions Ever Made, 1999) has called Trompenaars one of the "new gurus." Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, a British management researcher, are partners in an Amsterdam-based consulting firm that specializes in cross-cultural management and training. They are also authors of The Seven Cultures of Capitalism (1993) and Riding the Waves of Culture (1994). These two books were among the first to detail how different national cultures affect corporate culture and organizational behavior. The authors' research database has now grown to 50,000^B respondents, and as business becomes increasingly globalized, they look anew at the multicultural workplace. They suggest that various national groups often hold values that are mirror images of one another. When confronted with opposing values, cultures develop survival strategies that often foster wealth building. Organizations can use these strategies to their advantage. Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars identify seven "opposing" value dimensions, pose the dilemma these contrasts create, and suggest ways to reconcile differences. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

Cross-cultural competence is a skill that has become increasingly essential for the managers in multinational companies. For other business people, this kind of competence may spell the difference between surviving and perishing in the new global economy. This book focuses on the dilemmas of these managers and offers constructive advice on dealing with culture shock and turning it to business advantage. Opposing values can be understood as complementary and reconcilable, say Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars. A manager who concentrates on integrating rather than polarizing values will make much better business decisions. Furthermore, the authors show, wealth is actually created by reconciling values-in-conflict.Based on fourteen years of research involving nearly 50,000 managerial respondents and on the authors' extensive experience in international business, the book compares American cultural values to those of more than forty other nations. It explores six culture-defining dimensions and their reverse images (universalism-particularism, individualism- communitarianism, specificity-diffusion, achieved status-ascribed status, inner direction- outer direction, and sequential time-synchronous time) and discusses them as alternative ways of coping with life's-and business's-exigencies. With humor, cartoons, and an array of business examples, the authors demonstrate how the reconciliation of cultural differences can cause whole organizations to grow healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (October 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300084978
• ISBN-13: 978-0300084979
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An good introduction to Cultural Dimensions, June 29, 2005

By 

Layla Halabi (Dubai - UAE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values (Hardcover)

Building and expanding on Hofstede's five dimensions of culture, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner present a model of culture and cultural differences that is both sensible and eminently useful. While Hofstede may be the man who pioneered cultural research in management, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner are the men who popularized it within the business world.

The six dimensions of culture proposed are simple to understand and relate to. With the numerous examples given throughout the book, cultural encounters suddenly make sense and previously taken for granted 'issues', annoyances, and differences when dealing with other cultures are explained and analyzed. While some of the six dimensions introduced are in some ways similar to Hofstede's, five cultural dimensions (for example individualism vs. communitarism); however, the authors also introduce additional dimensions and sometimes expand Hofstede's in ways that make it easier for the reader to understand the differences among cultures.

While many scholars claim that the authors' research is not rigorously scientific as that of Hofstede for example, however, it remains a landmark in the field of culture research in management. Perhaps more importantly, it is more accessible to managers and trainers due to the simplicity of the writing style and the numerous examples scattered throughout the book. Overall, a highly readable and useful book that should become essential reading for students of International Business.

For people in a hurry and looking for a 'tool box' for dealing with cultural differences; 'Riding the Waves of Culture' by the same authors may be a better option.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for multicultural managers, December 11, 2000

By 

Antonius Sudarisman (East Kalimantan, Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values (Hardcover)

I have read this book 3 times only to find that the book is rich of information on how we can do business internationally. I am impressed by the comprehensiveness of the writers' survey which covers more than 40 thousand respondents from 50 different countries. The book also gives me new insights on how people of different values, norms and belief can reconcile the inherent cultural differences to build a dynamic relationship whithin a culturally diversed organisation. I recommend this book for managers and everybody who work in multinational business.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, February 16, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values (Hardcover)

Don't be put off by this book's daunting terminology. Beneath the author's unrestrained use of labels like universalism, particularism, individualism, communitarianism, specificity and diffuseness, lies an insightful analysis of cultural differences. After defining various nationalities under a host of polysyllabic headings, authors Charles M. Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars illustrate the differences between them using engaging and easy-to-understand scenarios and stories from popular culture. The end goal of each of these sections is to explain to international business managers how cultural dilemmas can be reconciled.